Instagram now lets you mute accounts without unfollowing them

Instagram is adding a small but important new feature: The ability to mute posts from an account you follow, without actually unfollowing it.

The change, which will be rolling out "over the coming weeks," should make it easier to personalize your feed without messing up "complex social dynamics," as an Instagram rep put it.

When the new feature goes live, you'll be able to mute sans unfollow by tapping the three dots next to the account handle, selecting "Mute Posts," and tapping "Mute." From now on, you will no longer see the posts from that account on your feed.

This does not mean you're totally ignoring that account. You can still see their posts if you visit their profile page, and you will get notified on comments or posts you're tagged in. Note that the accounts you mute will have no way of knowing you've muted them.

To revert the change, to to that account's profile and tap "Unmute posts."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The new feature will likely be of use to people who run their Instagram accounts like a business but still want to enjoy the service as much as possible. So, if you make jewelry and often post photos of your creations on your account, you'll probably want to follow other similar accounts to get follows back. But, if you're sick of watching photos of jewelry all the time, muting all those accounts will let you retain some degree of sanity.

With tons of Instagram content effectively being some sort of ad right now, this is likely a highly sought-for feature among marketers and influencers. And if you're one of those folks who feel they have to reciprocate other people's follows, now you'll be able to fine-tune your Instagram experience to only see the stuff you actually want to see.